In the Washington Post today I read that many polygamists are fighting for the legalization of bigamy:
Valerie and others among the estimated 40,000 men, women and children in polygamous communities are part of a new movement to decriminalize bigamy. Consciously taking tactics from the gay-rights movement, polygamists have reframed their struggle, choosing in interviews to de-emphasize their religious beliefs and focus on their desire to live “in freedom,” according to Anne Wilde, director of community relations for Principle Voices, a pro-polygamy group based in Salt Lake. (Post)
What an interesting move. Align yourselves strategically with a group you consider immoral sinners in order to further your “redefinition” of marriage while refusing your strategical mentors the same rights you’re fighting for.
The reaction of the famed Religious Right to such a move would be equally interesting. As I recall, nowhere in the New Testament is declared immoral, and we all know that the Old Testament is peppered with bigamists: the first bigamist mentioned is “Lamech” (Genesis 4.19). Don’t know who that is, but some of the heavy hitters of Judeo-Christian tradition were polygamists: Abraham, Jacob, David, and Solomon all had multiple wives.
One apologetics site explains that
First, there has always been more women in the world than men. […] Second, warfare in ancient times was especially brutal, with an incredibly high rate of fatality. This would have resulted in an even greater percentage of women to men. Third, due to the patriarchal societies, it was nearly impossible for a woman to provide for herself. Women were often uneducated and untrained. Women relied on their fathers, brothers, and husbands for provision and protection. Unmarried women were often subjected to prostitution and slavery. Fourth, the significant difference between the number of women and men would have left many, many women in an undesirable situation (to say the least). (Source)
So because humanity is brutal, God allowed polygamy. Of course, the underlying social evils that, according to this argument, made polygamy necessary are not addressed. Women continued to be oppressed, and wars and genocide continued. But polygamy was a temporary fix.
What about now?
How does God view polygamy today? The Bible says that God’s original intention was for one man to be married to only one woman, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife (not wives); and they shall become one flesh (not multiple fleshes)”� (Genesis 2:24). We see in Deuteronomy 17:14-20, that the kings were not supposed to multiply wives. This most definitely puts Solomon in direct disobedience against the Lord.
Okay, so that’s what God originally intended. But where did he say, “No — on second thought, I think this polygamy thing is not working out”?
In the New Testament, 1 Timothy 3:2, 12 and Titus 1:6 give “the husband of one wife”� in a list of qualifications for spiritual leadership. While these qualifications are only specifically for positions of spiritual leadership, they apply equally to all Christians. Should not all Christians be “above reproach…temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money”� (1 Timothy 3:2-4)?
It’s by implication. The New Testament always uses “wife” in the singular, setting an example.
Whether or not the New Testament forbids bigamy is not my point. What I’m curious about is how, if this movement grows, will the Evangelical Christian community react? Will they go as crazy about this as they have about gay marriage? Will there be moves to go back and revise all the referenda to say specifically that marriage is between “one man and one woman”?